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Banahan KO'ed and red carded as Quins beat Gloucester

By PA
Matt Banahan /Getty

Danny Care and Luke Northmore both scored two tries as Harlequins remained firmly in the Gallagher Premiership play-off places with a high-scoring 59-24 victory against Gloucester.

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Third-placed Quins scored nine tries in what was their sixth win in their last eight games, although this is one they effectively had to win twice, having seen a 24-0 lead slip away.

A Gloucester side missing a multitude of first-team players fought back impressively either side of half-time before eventually falling away and having veteran Matt Banahan sent off for a dangerous tackle.

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Harlequins made some early pressure count in the 10th minute, as Mike Brown’s offload send Cadan Murley away down the left and he timed his pass to give Northmore an easy finish in the corner.

Marcus Smith could not convert from out wide but Quins were too hot to handle in the opening 20 minutes and were soon scoring again.

After Alex Dombrandt and Andre Esterhuizen had been stopped just shot, Care recycled the ball for Brown, who stretched over to score.

Quick hands from Smith and Brown then allowed Murley to score the hosts’ third try and the bonus point was secured after just 26 minutes, as Care was given a walk-in by James Chisholm.

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Smith’s conversion took the score to 24-0 by the time Gloucester conjured a response and it was a good one as well, as Jack Clement went on a fine run before sending Charlie Chapman under the posts.

George Barton converted before kicking a penalty four minutes into the second half to bring the visitors back to within two scores.

It really was ‘game on’ after 51 minutes, when Cherry and Whites skipper Matt Garvey stretched over from close range, and a remarkable fightback was complete two minutes later.

Gone was the accuracy in Harlequins’ game and a loose pass was seized upon by Chapman, who had a clear run to the posts, meaning Barton could convert to level the scores.

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Parity did not last long, however, as Quins got their act together to move back in front, with Brown moving the ball outside to Northmore, who ran clear before passing back inside to give Care his second try.

The hosts’ sixth try arrived after 62 minutes, as the ball went through the hands of Smith, Murley and Esterhuizen before Tyrone Green finished well down the right.

Following Banahan’s red card for a tackle on Green, Harlequins finally made sure of the win when Dombrandt grounded the ball off the back of a scrum.

There was still time in a whirlwind of a game for Northmore to grab his second before Dombrandt did likewise off the final play from a driving maul.

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Jon 8 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 10 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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